Stay 'TIl I Fall Asleep
by mercurymoon7490195
Summary: A late night Cecilos phone conversation. Written for the 100 phone calls fic drive on tumblr.


"And so then, I saw something move up ahead of us, like it darted under this rock in the middle of the desert, right? And I ran after it, I thought it might be one of those things like the skeleton we found that day...you remember the skeleton, right, the one with the wings and the really long legs that I couldn't even imagine what kind of creature it could be?"

"Mhmm."

"But it turned out it was just a scorpion, so not quite as exciting." Carlos cradled the phone against his shoulder. "So what was your day like?"

"Pretty boring, compared to yours," Cecil chuckled. "Work. Came home. Ate dinner….missed you." He hugged the pillow in his lap a little tighter. "The unfortunate usual."

Carlos sighed. "I miss you too, Cecil. I keep finding so many exciting scientific discoveries in this desert, and sometimes, I'll turn around to show you, before realizing that you're still not here…and then I get sad again."

Cecil bit his lip. "I wish I could be out there with you...or, you know, that you were back here with me." His hands tightened on the nebula-speckled pillowcase. "Did you have any more luck with the doors?"

"Not really. I thought maybe I found one this morning, but it turned out to be a mirage. So it's good to know that these can still happen in this desert as well as Night Vale's."

"Yeah..._good._" He buried his face in the pillow, mumbling something that sounded like "fucking mirages."

Carlos' eyebrows knit together. "What was that, Cecil I didn't quite-"

"Because fucking mirages will get you get you home!" Cecil snapped, clutching the phone. "Carlos, _please_ for the love of-" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Forget it. Nevermind."

"Cecil-"

"No, Carlos just...just forget it. I just-I'm being selfish." He sighed, resting his chin on the top of the pillow. "You have science to do, I understand that...of course I understand. It's just that-after having someone else to sleep with…"

"It's hard to face an empty bed again," Carlos finished quietly. He flopped over on his back, his lap coat folded under his head as a makeshift pillow."I'll try and look for the door again tomorrow, alright? I'll try my best...I promise."

"Okay. Thank you." Cecil murmured. He closed his eyes, resting his cheek against the cool, cracked screen of his phone. "Will you stay with me tonight, though? Just until I fall asleep." He picked at a loose thread of his sheets. "I know you're still concerned about your battery, but-"

"-No, it's okay. I'd love to." He settled in, smiling up at the stars. "You know, aside from the mysterious lights, I'm pretty sure this is the same sky that's above Night Vale. I'd have to compare pictures to be a hundred percent certain, which I'll definitely have to do when I get home, but...it's still a nice thing to think about."

"Yeah." Cecil stripped off his shirt and settled down under the covers, curling around the pillow and hugging it close to his chest. "That is sort of comforting." He set his phone in speaker mode, settling in. "I love you, Carlos."

"I love you too, Cecil." He pressed his lips to the phone, closing his eyes. "Soon," he said. "I'm going to get to kiss you for real, as soon as I can."

"That might just be the happiest day of my life," Cecil replied, burying his face in the pillowcase. It still smelled faintly of Carlos' cologne. "So, aside from looking for the door, what are you planning on doing tomorrow?"

Carlos grinned. "I'm glad you asked," he said. "Well first, I'm going to try and go towards the mountain to see if I can find anymore of those bones, you know the ones with the long legs and tiny wings? And once I locate the bones I'm going to see if I can reconstruct the skeleton…"

Cecil smiled, letting Carlos' voice envelop him. His eyelids fluttered closed as he listened to his boyfriend happily rattling off his scientific to-do list; longer than it had been the previous night. _Someday,_ he thought firmly. _Someday he'll come back._

"And then if there's still light I think I might try to-" Carlos stopped, smiling at the light snoring emanating from his phone speaker. "Well, you get the idea." His eyes flicked upwards, the stars reflected in his eyes. "But before any of that, Cecil, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll probably see you in my dreams; I mean scientifically speaking I've been thinking of you enough, I doubt my brain will stop thinking about you even in sleep...and even if that's the closest I get to you this week, it's better than nothing, right?" He sighed. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Cecil. Sleep well...love you." He hung up quietly, slipping his phone in his pocket and closing his eyes, falling asleep with a contented smile slipping across his face.


End file.
